Breaking down the question
The question asks whether marriage in Indian society remains sacred, and the word Comment invites a balanced judgement rather than a one-sided answer. Sacredness here refers to the traditional Hindu conception of marriage as a sacrament — a sacred, indissoluble, religiously sanctioned union — as against a secular contract.
The examiner is testing your ability to weigh continuity against change. You must show what the sacramental view involved, trace the forces that have eroded it, and yet acknowledge that many sacred elements persist. A verdict that ignores either side would be incomplete.
At 10 marks, you should establish the traditional meaning of sacredness, present the evidence for secularisation, present the evidence for continuity, and arrive at a reasoned conclusion.
How to approach it
Open by distinguishing marriage as a sacrament from marriage as a contract, and note that classically Hindu marriage was regarded as a sacred, permanent and religiously ordained bond meant to fulfil the aims of dharma, progeny and social duty.
Then set out the forces of change — legislation permitting divorce, education, urbanisation, women's employment, individualism and the idea of marriage as a companionate partnership. Balance this with the persistence of ritual, family arrangement and religious sanction. You can direct readers to our note on family, household and marriage for elaboration.
Conclude with a measured judgement: marriage has been partly secularised in form and law, yet retains a strong sacred dimension in practice and sentiment.
Model answer
In the traditional Hindu conception, marriage was a sacrament rather than a contract. As K. M. Kapadia noted, Hindu marriage was regarded as a sacred and indissoluble union, one of the essential samskaras through which the individual fulfilled religious duty, continued the lineage and repaid the debt to the ancestors. It was solemnised through sacred rites such as the saptapadi and kanyadaan, presided over by ritual and belief, and considered binding not merely for this life but beyond it. Divorce was alien to this ideal, and the union carried a moral and spiritual weight far exceeding any legal agreement.
Several forces have, however, weakened the purely sacred character of marriage in contemporary India. Legislation — notably the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 — introduced provisions for divorce, judicial separation and monogamy, giving marriage a legal and contractual dimension it formerly lacked. Education, urbanisation and the growth of women's employment have fostered individualism and the expectation that marriage be a companionate partnership founded on mutual affection rather than on ritual obligation alone. The rise of love marriages, later ages at marriage, greater acceptance of divorce and remarriage, and the influence of secular and market values have all shifted marriage some distance from the sacramental ideal towards a more negotiated, secular relationship.
Yet it would be mistaken to conclude that marriage has ceased to be sacred in Indian society. The overwhelming majority of marriages are still solemnised through religious rites, and the ceremonies, mantras and rituals retain deep significance for families across communities. Marriage continues to be treated as a bond between families rather than merely between individuals, arranged with attention to caste, community and kinship. Divorce, though legally available, still carries considerable social stigma, and permanence remains a widely held ideal. The sanctity attached to the marital tie, the ritual elaboration of weddings and the persistence of religious sanction show that the sacred dimension endures alongside the new contractual one.
In conclusion, marriage in Indian society today combines sacred and secular elements. In law and increasingly in outlook it has acquired a contractual character, admitting dissolution and resting more on individual choice; yet in ritual, sentiment and social practice it remains strongly sacred. Rather than a simple replacement of the sacrament by the contract, what we observe is a coexistence — the sacred ideal persisting while adapting to the pressures of a modernising society.
Examiner's perspective
The examiner expects a balanced comment, not a one-directional argument that marriage has either wholly lost or wholly retained its sacredness. A common weakness is to list changes such as divorce and love marriage while ignoring the strong continuity of ritual and sentiment, or the reverse.
Strong answers first establish what sacredness meant in the sacramental tradition, then weigh secularising forces against persisting sacred elements, citing legislation and companionate marriage on one side and ritual, family arrangement and stigma against divorce on the other. A nuanced conclusion recognising the coexistence of sacred and contractual dimensions demonstrates the analytical balance the question rewards.